Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: UNLV set for NCAA title bid

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His golf column appears Tuesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

It's stunning final-round loss to Texas Christian in the Western Athletic Conference Championships notwithstanding, the UNLV golf team is prepared to make a run at its first national championship, a confident Dwaine Knight said.

"We certainly would have liked to have won the (WAC) tournament, that was our goal going in, but I like the fact that we had a chance to try to compete for the championship," Knight said. "That's what we've really based this team on this year, can we be competitive going into the last round and have a chance to win at the end.

"I think we're playing very well right now -- as good as we've ever been going into (the postseason)."

The Rebels, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will begin their quest for a national championship next week. UNLV will be the top-seeded of the 18 teams competing in the NCAA West Regional Championships at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The top nine teams will advance to the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, to be played May 27-30 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Although the Rebels held a five-shot lead over TCU going into the final round of the WAC tournament, the Horned Frogs shot a staggering 11 under par as a team while the Rebels managed to shoot 1 under in the closing round.

"From that perspective, they just flat outplayed us right down the stretch and they played great golf on a really good golf course," Knight said. "But we're really playing well.

"On that golf course, as difficult as it was, I thought we had the ball in position probably as good as any other team -- even better than TCU. But they made some big putts and holed some shots they had to hole to beat us."

The fact that the Rebels were in contention for the conference championship going into the final round continued an impressive trend for UNLV, which gives Knight reason to be optimistic going into the West Regional.

"We've won six times and that was our 11th time we've had a chance to win a tournament with just a couple holes to go," Knight said. "That's pretty amazing and I feel like if we can keep that up, if we can get in that position in the nationals, that's where we've been able to win from."

* ADD REBELS: UNLV has three of the top 10-ranked players in the West, according to the MasterCard Collegiate Rankings. Sophomore Jeremy Anderson is ranked second in the West, senior Bill Lunde is third and junior Charley Hoffman is seventh.

* WOMEN IN GOLF: Painted Desert Golf Club in northwest Las Vegas is hosting a Women in Golf Day May 16. Women of all ages and skill levels are invited to attend the event, which will include a golf outing, equipment demonstration and clinic. Call 645-2570 for additional information.

* UPCOMING EVENTS: The PGA Tour is in Duluth, Ga., this week for the BellSouth Classic at the TPC at Sugarloaf. Scott McCarron is the defending champion; CBS will televise Saturday and Sunday. ... The Senior PGA Tour is in Charlotte, N.C., for The Home Depot Invitational at the TPC at Piper Glen. Jim Dent won last year's tournament; ESPN will televise Friday through Sunday. ... The LPGA Tour will stage the Sara Lee Classic this weekend at Hermitage Golf Club in Old Hickory, Tenn. Terry-Jo Myers is the defending champion.

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